SC should appoint SIT on coal scam, suggests BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday demanded the resignation of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar over allegations of government's interference in CBI's probe into coal blocks and suggested that the Supreme Court should appoint a Special Investigation Team to bring out the truth.

The party alleged that the new reports of the government "vetting" a CBI report on the coal scam make it clear that it has "abused and misused" the agency and sought to know whether the law ministry and the Prime Minister's Office vet every chargesheet of CBI as a matter of "procedure".

"We demand that Ashwani Kumar should resign and an SIT be constituted under the auspices of Supreme Court for investigating the coal scam thoroughly and properly. Law minister should resign. SIT has to be constituted as without constituting it the matter the probe is not going to reach its logical conclusion," BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said.

She charged that law and police officers are being misused for serving certain purposes and rubbished the government's claim that the contents of the report were not shared with any "political executive".

Lekhi pointed out that the apex court has asked the CBI to give an affidavit that it has not prepared the report under any pressure.

The BJP leader maintained that these allegations appear to be true as no denial has come from the government.

The main Opposition also charged that CBI's role is increasingly coming under the scanner amid reports of government interference in its functioning.

"CBI was misused even in the Jagdish Tytler case (1984 anti-Sikh riots)," she said.